The present invention relates generally to transmitter housing assemblies for industrial process transmitters, and in particular to a transmitter housing assembly including a local operator interface and methods of assembling the same.
Industrial process transmitters are used in industrial process facilities in a variety of settings. For example, industrial process transmitters can include a sensor to sense pressure, temperature, vibration, flow, or nearly any other parameter associated with an industrial process, and/or can include an actuator or other device that manages, controls, or otherwise interacts with an industrial process. Many industrial process facilities are located in corrosive environments, or may be subject to a risk of fire, explosion, or vibration, and therefore industrial process transmitters must generally be constructed to be explosion-proof and otherwise able to withstand operating environment conditions. The industrial process transmitter can communicate—wirelessly or using a hard-wired connection—with a control room, other device, etc. to help provide industrial process management. Typically, industrial process transmitters are installed at desired locations and are configured by an operator at the installation location using a programming device. However, such programming devices can be costly, and must be transported to the installation location for use by the operator. Yet it is desired to be able to configure an industrial process transmitter without having to remove the transmitter cover from the transmitter housing. Covers may be difficult to remove and then reinstall in the field. Importantly, cover removal undesirably exposes interior regions of the transmitter to the environment.
A local operator interface may be provided to allow configuration of the process transmitter without removal of the cover from the housing. Such devices typically include a transmitter cover having a transparent cover piece for viewing a display and may also include capacitive touch buttons for configuring the transmitter. It is desirable to provide a local operator interface with as large a display as possible for a given housing size, while accommodating the capacitive touch buttons.